Samosa

Name: Samosa
Total time: 95 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 1 ¼ cup flour (all-purpose); 3 tbsp ghee (soft, for rubbing into the flour); ½ tsp ajwain (carom seeds); ½ tsp salt (for the dough); 5 tbsp water (cold); 350 g potato (boiled, peeled, coarsely crushed); ⅓ cup green peas; 1 tbsp vegetable oil (for the filling); 1 tsp cumin (seeds); ½ tsp fennel seed (lightly crushed); 1 tsp ginger (minced); 1 unit green chilis (minced); 1 tsp coriander (ground); ½ tsp garam masala; 1 tsp amchur (dry mango powder); ½ tsp salt (for the filling); 2 tbsp cilantro (chopped); 3 cup vegetable oil (for frying)

Sandwiches & Handhelds · South Asian

18 ingredients · 95 minutes · 2 servings

Cook Now

1031kcal13.5g protein66.9g fat96.8g carbs~$1.30/ serving*

Contains gluten, dairy

Restrictions

Containsgluten · dairyIt is in an ingredient you cannot leave out.

Diets

VegetarianPescatarianNo porkNo alcohol

Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.

Ingredients

Servings:

1 ¼ cup	flour (all-purpose)
3 tbsp	ghee (soft, for rubbing into the flour)
½ tsp	ajwain (carom seeds)
½ tsp	salt (for the dough)
5 tbsp	water (cold)
350 g	potato (boiled, peeled, coarsely crushed)
⅓ cup	green peas
1 tbsp	vegetable oil (for the filling)
1 tsp	cumin (seeds)
½ tsp	fennel seed (lightly crushed)
1 tsp	ginger (minced)
1 unit	green chilis (minced)
1 tsp	coriander (ground)
½ tsp	garam masala
1 tsp	amchur (dry mango powder)
½ tsp	salt (for the filling)
2 tbsp	cilantro (chopped)
3 cup	vegetable oil (for frying)

Optional

Not counted above. The dish works without them.

¼ tsp	turmeric
1 tbsp	cashew-free swap: raisins
1 tsp	lemon (juice, in place of amchur)
¼ tsp	cayenne pepper
2 tbsp	tamarind-style dip: hot sauce

Steps

Mix4 min
by hand, dry
flour + salt + ajwain + soft ghee, rubbed between the palms until the flour clumps when squeezed and holds its shape — this fat coating (the moyan) is the whole crust. Too little and the shell puffs and blisters in the oil; too much and the cone cracks while you shape it
Knead3 min
stiff, cold water added a spoon at a time
+ cold water only until the crumbs come together. This dough should be noticeably firmer than a chapati dough and barely smooth — a soft, well-developed dough traps steam and bubbles, a stiff one dries into flat layers
Rest30 min
covered, room temperature
dough under a damp cloth, so the flour hydrates evenly and the gluten relaxes enough to roll thin without springing back
Saute4 min
medium
oil + cumin seeds + fennel until they sizzle and darken a shade, then + ginger + green chilis for thirty seconds — whole seeds bloomed in fat carry flavor that ground spice stirred in later cannot
Mash4 min
off heat
+ crushed potato + peas + coriander + garam masala + amchur + salt + cilantro, mixed coarse and left chunky. Spread it out and let it go completely cold and dry: a warm, wet filling releases steam inside the sealed pastry and blows the seam open in the oil
Fold15 min
rolled thin, ~6 in oval, halved
divide dough into 3 balls, roll each into a thin oval, cut in half. Brush the straight edge with a flour-and-water paste, lap one corner over the other into a cone and press the overlap firmly — a seam sealed on dry dough peels apart while frying. Fill two-thirds full, press out the air, pinch the top edge shut in a straight ridge = 6 samosas
Fry20 min
low, oil at ~275°F, 3 at a time
samosas slid into barely-warm oil and left alone. They will sink and sit; no bubbling frenzy. Holding this low temperature dries the shell slowly so it sets in flat sheets — this is the step that produces the blistered pale crust that shatters, and rushing it is what makes bubbles
Fry5 min
raised to ~350°F
same samosas, heat raised at the end until they turn deep gold and float, then drained upright on a rack so the trapped steam escapes through the pastry rather than softening the bottom side